The Fayetteville City Council approved a measure Nov. 6 designed to further the goal of setting aside 20 percent of the land within the city limits as greenspace and protecting it for the future.

Council members voted to apply for a $100,000 state Dept. of Natural Resources Recreational Trails Program grant to construct a recreation/nature trail on the city’s 308-acre property at the end of Burch Road south of Ga. Highway 54.

The former P.K. Dixon property contains uplands and wetlands and includes frontage on Gingercake Creek and Whitewater Creek. Many of those visiting the site have commented on the beauty found there. If the application gains state approval, the grant would reimburse 80 percent of the $100,000 price tag.

Planning and Zoning Director Eldridge Gunn said that though the city has several pocket parks and small greenspace areas, there are no large greenway corridors or recreation parks. This grant will allow the city to continue to set aside significant greenspace and recreation space. The construction of a recreation/nature trail will help to establish a major greenway corridor and recreational destination point that can be utilized by the immediate community, the entire city and residents countywide.

The upland ridge area of the site is the desired location for the proposed recreation/nature trail. The upland ridge has a history of use as farmland, according to the project narrative. That use was abandoned more than 20 years ago and a mixture of trees and scrubs in various stages have taken over the old farm fields. Trees in the area include pines, water oak, willow oak, red oak, white oak and honey locus. A variety of oaks and cedar are found closer to the farmstead location.

The wetland area to the east and west of the ridge site contains a mixture of Piedmont trees and vegetation. The large trees present along both creeks on reflect the pristine nature of the area that has not been subject to development. In some areas adjacent to Whitewater Creek there are red maple, chestnut oak, water oak, river birch, catalpa, tulip tree and hornbeam, the narrative said. There is a steep topography between the floodplains and the ridge that is heavily forested with smaller vegetation indicating that some degree of harvesting occurred 60-80 years ago. The area is made up predominantly of oak and hickory with some American beech and green ash.

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